On Wednesday night in Chinatown the sidewalk was filled with several mobile pizza ovens. Cardboard boxes of every color and design shuffled in and out of La Sorted’s, where the pizzeria once again served as a home base offering food-relief for anyone in need. Some of the region’s most famous chefs came together to cook pizzas, sandwiches and tiramisu cups, which then spread to all corners of the city. The LA Pizza Alliance was back, and twice the size of last year’s operation.
In response to 2025’s January fires, roughly two dozen local pizzerias banded together to create a coalition that could feed Los Angeles in its time of need. The free meals were coordinated and delivered by a volunteer team.
On Wednesday it returned, sending free pizzas to those affected by the Altadena and Palisades fires, as well as by immigration raids or any other misfortunes in the last year. The message was simple: If you need a warm meal, the LA Pizza Alliance has it covered.
“This isn’t an anniversary, this isn’t a celebration,” organizer David Turkell said. “This is just a commitment to the promise we made a year ago to the people of Los Angeles. … We just want to make sure that the public knows we have their back, no matter what happens in the face of anything that’s occurring.”
According to Turkell, the event delivered more than 1,000 whole pizzas last year. This year it topped 1,800, plus desserts, bagels, salads and other items.
“I need 36 pies, y’all, 36!” a voice called out to the ovens on the sidewalk. Chefs sprang into action. Off to one side, Taqueria Frontera owner Juan Carlos “JC” Guerra sliced al pastor from a trompo, helping to fuel the participating pizzaiolos.
After the success of the initial LA Pizza Alliance event, chefs asked Turkell about participating throughout the year. He expected 2026’s night of free pizza to be bigger but didn’t foresee it doubling. Last year more than two dozen participants stepped up to provide food. This year, there were roughly 75.
The inaugural event came together in 48 hours, in what Turkell called sheer chaos. This year, he and host Tommy Brockert, owner of La Sorted’s, planned the event in a week’s time.
“It’s twice the size,” Brockert said, “but twice as organized.”
The additional days helped them streamline a system for using the ovens.
Delivery drivers lined up in Mandarin Plaza’s adjacent garage, awaiting their stacks of pizza boxes.
One new vendor, Jeffrey Vance of Los Feliz’s Old Gold Tomato Pies, called the event a good excuse for camaraderie and networking within the pizza community. But the most important factor, he said, was providing community aid.
“It’s a tough place to live, and it’s expensive and housing is rough,” Vance said. “Seeing what these guys did after the fires last year was pretty inspiring, so it was a no-brainer for us to say yes when David [Turkell] reached out.”
Other new vendors included William Joo, chef-owner of Pizzeria Sei, a widely acclaimed pizzeria on the L.A. Times 101 Best Restaurants list. Joo set up a table in the corner of La Sorted’s kitchen, firing flatbreads for sandwiches in the oven, some slathered with his pesto and mortadella, others with marinated meats from Korean destination Soban.
Legendary pizzaiolo Chris Bianco wanted to participate last year but was out of town. This year, he prepared dozens of slices from his Arts District restaurants, Pizzeria Bianco and Pane Bianco.
“The hospitality community, in this case the pizza community, is a very tight-knit group,” Bianco said. “This is one of the kindest groups of people. They’ll be around when people are in need. They show up. They don’t ask questions. A part of me came here just to convene and interact with humanity, and just make sure that we don’t give up.”
In 2025 restaurants traveled from San Diego. This year Bettina from Montecito joined, as well as Fat Lip Pizza and Beer from Corona.
Nearly every 2025 vendor returned this year, including Lupa Cotta chef-owner Ines Glaser.
“Last year I was in a dark, dark hole looking at my phone and the news,” Glaser said. “[Now] everyone seems in a better place, and happier. I think everybody’s just ready to make pizza and feel good. … It’ll be interesting to see over the years how it changes and what other community efforts they might put this towards. If we can all network and be there for each other, then I think we can all lift each other up.”
Brockert and Turkell are planning multiple new ways to fundraise and feed the community this year, including an event to coincide with March’s International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. And, Turkell added, the LA Pizza Alliance will continue to work with mutual-aid organizations such as Slice Out Hunger, a national nonprofit that fights food insecurity with free pizza.
The post LA Pizza Alliance formed after the fires. It’s back with more free pizza for those in need appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
